SYDNEY -- A U.S. State Department document that was used by some Australian newspapers to link COVID-19 to a laboratory contains no solid evidence but instead relies on publicly available information, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported Tuesday.

The dossier appeared in News Corp Australia-owned media earlier this month and was assumed as high-level western government intelligence.

The U.S. embassy in Canberra has held meetings with Australian officials to clarify the dossier to be a 'non-paper' only intended for background use, according to the ABC. (US-COVID-19-Lab)

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TOKYO -- Though decoupling with China has been incited by some politicians recently, the world's largest developing country is set to "remain a critical manufacturing hub for most multinational companies for the foreseeable future," Japanese media have said.

"Moving supply chains out of China is likely to be a trickier and more gradual process than it first appears," James Crabtree, associate professor in practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said in an article published on the Nikkei Asian Review on Wednesday.

At present, China enjoys one obvious advantage -- its economy is open for business, while many other Asian economies are still under lockdown, he said, adding that as the world races to find new sources of masks and personal protective equipment, China will "win more business, not less." (China-Japan-COVID-19)

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CANBERRA -- Australia's Tourism Minister asked the state and territory governments to come up with clear pathways to remove their border restrictions on Tuesday.

The governments of some states and territories have resisted calls to ease their border closures, which were set in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Simon Birmingham, minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, told in an interview on Channel 9's Today Show on Tuesday morning that border closures were exacerbating the economic impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry. (Australia-Tourism-COVID-19)

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TRIPOLI -- The Libyan Coast Guard rescued more than 300 illegal immigrants and brought them back to the capital Tripoli, the United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) said Monday.

"Today at dawn, Libyan Coast Guard returned to Tripoli 315 refugees and migrants after being intercepted/rescued at sea aboard several boats," the UNHCR tweeted.

"Two persons lost their lives and their bodies were recovered. UNHCR partner IRC (International Rescue Committee) was on site to provide urgent medical care to all survivors," the UNHCR said. (Libya-Immigrants-UNHCR) Enditem

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